Municipalities from New York to Maine are preparing for what some experts say might be a historic storm that could dump record levels of snow in some places. The New York Times reports that as many as 2,200 flights across the region have been cancelled to prepare for the storm. The storm could hit hardest on Friday night when the arctic jet stream is expected to meet with the polar jet stream somewhere between New Jersey and Nantucket, according to Tim Morrin, who is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

“We are taking this storm very seriously and you should take this storm very seriously,” said Jerome Hauer, the New York State Commissioner of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, at an afternoon news conference. He also recommended that people stay at home to work if possible, or at least plan to leave early. Amtrak has suspended northbound service starting Friday afternoon out of Penn Station in NYC and southbound service out of Boston.

In addition to 60mph winds, the New York metro area is expected to receive between 12 and 20 inches of snow. Boston could get as much as two feet, some coastal flooding and wind gusts of up to 75mph. Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, told NYT that more than 20 agencies are preparing for what he called a blizzard-type storm, which may be the worst that Massachusetts has had to deal with in a very long time.

Boston Gov. Deval Patrick has ordered all non-emergency personnel to work from home and all Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority services will close at 3.30pm. While meteorologists encourage both officials and residents of the region to prepare for the worst, the storm is still some distance away and the forecast could change. The National Weather Service advises people to keep checking with their local NWS forecast office for updates.